Everbrite's Russia, Belarus and Ukraine PagesBelarus Russia Tidbits for Tourists: Russia Regional Information: Central Moscow Tour- in four parts with map: Travel in Russia planes, trains and automobiles Trans-Siberian Trains information to get you started on your journey Russian Language and Culture Ukraine |
Karelia and the White SeaChurch of the Transfiguration at Kizhi
Page Contents Location The capital of Kareliaa is Petrozavodsk, a city of more than 280,000 inhabitants located on Lake Onega. About 85% of the territory is covered with forests. There are also more than 27,000 rivers and over 60,000 lakes in Karelia, including Lake Ladoga (17,000 square kilometers) and Lake Onego (9,900 square kilometers), which are among the largest lakes in Europe. This is perhaps the best map of the area to be found on the internet. Weather Winter sports include ski trips, snowmobile excursions and helicopter rides to Kizhi. Daylight Getting There Trains Train #658Ch "Kalevala" There are several other daily trains between Moscow and Petrozavodsk and between St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk and others between Murmansk and Petrozavodsk. Travel time on the fastest train to Murmansk takes about 20 hours and on the slower passenger trains it can take about 25 hours. Cruises and Water Travel The following companies offer River Cruises between Moscow and St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg - Valaam - St. Petersburg Cruises Rafting on the Shuya River: Rafting on the Chirka - Kem R i v e r : Cruising on the Karelian Lakes and into the White Sea: Another highly recommended company for excursions in Karelia is Tourist Company Stella but their website is all in Russian. Valaam As the Valaam monastery was in Finland, it remained open during Soviet times until the inhabitants were evacuated in Decemeber 1939 during bombing. Bombs hit near the cathedral, and windows were blown out in almost all the buildings. Life became physically impossible in the monastery, and because of that, the military commandant suggested that all monastery inhabitants leave. The monastery was abandoned and the monks relocated to Finland. In 1940 the territory was ceded to the Soviet government. During WWII the monastery changed sides several times, but at the end of the war, the territory remained in Soviet hands, and the monks decided to establish themselves in New Valaam, in Finland. In 1989 the monks returned when part of the island and some of the sketes were transferred to the control of the Russian Orthodox Church. Today the Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration of the Savior operates under the personal patronage of His Holiness Aleksiy II of Moscow and All Russia. Besides the monastery buildings, there are several chapels, hermitages and sketes. It is possible to attend performances of the choir which has produced a number of CDs of their chants. And there are lovely gardens and walks on the main island. It is possible to take boat rides around the islands and to visit some of the smaller hermitages and sketes. Petrozavodsk and Kizhi By 1710 the shipyards were moved to the Admiralty in Petersburg. Later the foundries ceased producing iron as the Urals became the center of mining and iron production. The factory in Petrozavodsk ceased production in 1734. The city experienced a brief revival during the Turkish war (1768 - 1774) when the foundries were active again. Then in 1777 Catherine the Great recognized the city's historic importance and gave the city its current name and the privilege of being a town. Around the same time the area had been developing some private sawmills. After the freeing of the serfs in 1861 the logging industry began developing rapidly. Sawmills were equipped with steam engines. The number of workers grew. Karelia became one of the most important suppliers of wood and sawmill products for internal and external markets. In the 19th century Lake Onega and the White Sea saw the first large ship and a regular ship route was established between Petrozavodsk and St. Petersburg. But overall, the economy of Karelia kept its traditional focus with only a small percentage of the population being workers and employees. A new railway line was built up to Murmansk in 1914 - 1915 and that promoted economic and cultural connections between Petrozavodsk and the rest of the country. Today Petrozavodsk is a pleasant city. The park established during Peter the Great's time has been maintained and new sculptures line the lake shore. The State University in Petrozavodsk is the largest in this part of Russia. In addition, there are a number of other educational and academic centers including branches of the Russian Academy of SCience and the Karelian Science Center. In Petrozavodsk itself there are four theaters, several museums of local history and culture and a number of Russian Orthodox and Lutheran churches. Kivatch Waterfall, the second largest in Europe (the largest is the Rhine Waterfalls) is located about 60 kilometers from Petrozavodsk. The height of the waterfalls is 10.7 meters. In the 1930s much of the water was diverted to the Kondopozhskaya Hydroelectric power station so that it lost much of its former wildness. Now it is only during the spring high waters that the river really flows strongly. Even then it is not a huge, dramatic falls. The falls are situated in the center of a nature reserve, "Kivatch" where there is a Karelian birch tree nursery. The Museum of Martial Waters was established in 1946 on the site of the oldest health resort in Russia. The curative mineral water springs here were visited by Peter the Great who had some buildings constructed in the area. With his death, the resort was no longer visited. Then in 1964, a sanatorium was constructed nearby. Today it is possible to "take the waters," and visit the little museum and the nearby Church of the Apostle Peter which was built in 1721. The church is quite unusual in that it contains both Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic features. But the main reason that people come to Petrozavodsk is to take the Comet hydrofoil 65 kilometers to the island of Kizhi. The Wooden Architecture Museum with its 70 monuments of folk architecture built in the 15th to 19th centuries became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990. The gem of the complex is the Kizhky pogost ensemble. It consists of the 22 cupola Transfiguration Church, a summer church dating from 1714, the Pokrovskaya Church, a winter church from 1764 and the bell-tower from 1874. The Petrozavodsk Bureau of Tourism and Excursions can arrange tours in the area. Solovetsky Islands, the Baltic-White Sea Canal and the White Sea More than 100,000 prisoners worked on the canal and it is estimated that about 86,000 died due to porr treatment, illness and executions. Along the Canal, many memorials and several museums were set in the recent time to commemorate those who died during the Canal's construction. There are ancient petroglyphs located on the eastern shore of Lake Onego near Besov Nos or Demon's Cape. These are symbolic rock carvings which were altered probably in the 15th century by Christians hoping to neutralize the evil spirits. There are also petroglyphs near the town of Belomorsk on the White Sea. These are more symbolic and fantastic, depicting the sun and the moon, enigmatic signs and imaginary creatures. Labyrinth
In Karelia and nearby, there are some significant ensembles of labyrinths and seids. A labyrinth is a maze, while a 'seid' is a large boulder or boulders, which have been placed atop smaller stones. These stone structures were (and probably are) believed to be sacred and mystical sites. Many believe they are locales where the real world meets the supernatural universe, and energies accumulate to keep in balance communities of people, ancestors and spirits. Collections of labyrinths and seids have been discovered in Karelia in the Kuzova Archipelago in the White Sea, along the sea route from Kem' to Solovetsky, the Solovetsky Archipelago itself, the the mountains of Kivakka and Nuoronen in the area of Paanajarvi and near Vottovaara mountain in Muezersky region. Probably the most famous place in the White Sea area is the Solovetsky Archipelago, also called Solovki. This cluster of islands covering about 300 square kilometers was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992, as "an outstanding example of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history." The archipelago consists of multiple small islands and six larger islands including the biggest, Greater Solovetsky Island, on which the famous medieval monastery and Kremlin is built. While the area had prehistoric inhabitants, its beginnings as a religious center date to the mid 15th century. First the local inhabitants told an old Monk, Savvaty, about the island. Later he was joined there in 1436 by a second monk, Zossima who settled there with his followers and established the monastery. Then in 1549 the Monastery came under the leader of Philip whose energy inspired the monks to construct stone churches, roads, canals to connect the numerous lakes. In 1636 a young priest named Nikita came from Moscow and made his home on Anzersky island, the second largest island of the archipelago, a small settled had been established by the monk Eleazar. It was here that Nikita took the new name of Nikon. Later he became Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Later in the 16th century Ivan the Terrible ordered that the monastery fortify itself to defend the northern borders of Russia. Huge boulders were added to the monastery walls and the place became a fortress complete with a military garrison. There were several military actions during the 18th and 19th century. Occasionally, as was common then, the Monastery served as a prison for heretics and criminals. In 1923, a infamous prison SLON (Solovetsky Camp of Special Purpose) was set up. Hundreds of thousands prisoners were kept on the Island where they were treated poorly, suffered badly and died. The prison was closed in the 1939 and the island became a military school. After WWII it was essentially abandoned until 1965 when restoration of the Solovetsky Kremlin began. In 1974 a small museum was opened, and this has been expanded more recently to a larger museum telling the history of the island and commemorating the prisoners who lived and died there. From from Arkhangelsk, it is 12 hours by boat or 1.5 hours by plane. From the Karelian towns of Kem' and Belomorsk there are boats that take 2.5 hours and more depending upon from where and also the sea conditions. From Petrozavodsk it's a helicopter ride of about 3 hours. From Moscow and Petersburg, it is possible to arrange a charter plane. Solovetsky Monastery
There were two guest houses or inns on the main island in summer 2001. It was also possible to camp or sometimes to find beds with locals. There were several small shops that sold some staples and food but no real restaurants or stores. There is a small visitors center where a map can be purchased and various tours and walks arranged. In addition to visiting the monastery, its churches, the kremlin and the museum, there are a number of other expeditions worth considering including a rowing in the lakes and canals, visiting the Church of Ascension atop Sekirnaya Hill. This church was a lighthouse during Soviet times and now serves as a memorial to those who died in the gulag camps here. Also visit the unique botanical gardens constructed in a sheltered spot on the island, where the monks were able to grown fruits and vegetables usually not available this far north. Also stop by the fish hatchery where the monks designed a place to hold large numbers of fish for consumption when severe weather did not permit fishing. If you travel to the Solovetsky Islands from Kem', be sure to visit the wooden Church of the Ascension that was constructed between 1711 and 1717. It has an unusual eight-sided tent roof with two side chapels that also have tent roofs. Also in Kem' is a small, but pleasant Museum of Local Studies. Alexander Svir Monastery History Since the end of the first millennium A.D. the area was occupied by Finno-Ugrian language group tribes: Korela, Sum, Ves and Saami (Pol). They inhabited the Karelian isthmus, northern side of Lake Ladoga, between the Ladoga and Onega lakes (Ves) and farther to the North (Saami). By the beginning of the 2nd millenium part of Karelia extended to the shores of the White Sea. At the same time, the same territories were penetrated by the Slavs, who helped to develop agriculture, salt work and sea trades. For centuries Karelia was a relatively independent, homogenous tribe or nation, but it was not a political state. The population center was Käkisalmi or Korela and the people were pagans. Sweden and the Roman Catholic church, Novgorod and Russian Orthodox church, both desired Finland and Karelia. "The first crusade" was made by the Swedish in 1156 to Finland proper. In 1227 Yaroslav, prince of Novgorod, held a mass baptism to convert the people in Karelia to the Russian Orthodox religion. Earl Birger of Sweden in 1238 made "the second crusade" to Häme introducing again the Roman Catholic tradition. Dimitri, prince of Novgorod "punished the Karelian people and took their country" in 1278. Then Swedes made their "third crusade" to Karelia in 1293 and established a stronghold called Wiborg (now Vyborg,) at which there place was an old Karelian trading post. But battles between the Swedes and the Rus continued for decades until 1323 when Swedish King Magnus and Prince Yuri of Novgorod signed a treaty at Pähkinäsaari that divided the territory of Karelia between Sweden and Novgorod. In 1478 the Novgorodian part of Karelia was attached to Russia. Over the next centuries the territory of Karelia remained divided; the borders moved and the rulers changed numerous times. Even their religion changed again as the Swedes became Lutherans and the Roman Catholics in Karelia were forced to become Lutherans as well. Despite the fact that it was Finnish territory, in 1703 Peter the Great built a fortress on Hare Island that was to become in 1712 his new capital, St. Petersburg. The Napoleonic wars shifted all of Finnish territory to Russia. At the end of 1917, however, Lenin acknowledged Finnish independence though the country still had to go through a very bitter and bloody civil war between January and May 1918. The Treaty of Tartu (Dorpat) signed in 1920 with Russia confirmed the borders of Finland. The Finnish government demanded a referendum in East Karelia about the possibility of reuniting with Finland. But no referendum occurred and Karelia remained divided. Russia started a conflict with Finland in late 1939, but by March 1940 a ceasefire was in place. In July 1941 the Finnish started an offensive into Russia and within months they had reclaimed Vyborg and Petrozavodsk. In June 1944 the Russian started a counter offensive to push out the Finns and by September they had reestablished themselves in Eastern Karelia. The borders have remained constant since 1947, but with the end of the Soviet Union, many residents of Finland regularly cross the border to visit relatives, friends and religious sites. The beginning of the 18th century was marked by reforms carried out by Peter the Great, the first Russian victories in the Northern war and general hope for a future happy life. A tide of construction in the honor of these victories spread across the northern region known as Zaonezhye, meaning on Lake Onego. Farmsteads, villages were repaired and reconstructed, new churches and chapels were built. Probably, the Church of the Transfiguration of Christ was the first to be built among the Kizhi churches. |
last revised 25 Jun 2006 © 2003-2011 Ruth E. Imershein
The information contained on these pages is intended to assist in making travel plans but things change, mistakes can be made.
Please do not depend entirely on this information when making your decisions.
Made with a Mac